Movie Critic Calls 911 from Theater, Rants on Twitter

Alex Billington, a movie critic for the website Firstshowing.net, called the authorities from inside a theater at the Toronto Film Festival this week because a fellow attendee was pointing his cell phone at the screen for over 10 minutes.

"I thought I might be witnessing an act of piracy ... and wished to report it to the proper authorities," Billington told BuzzFeed. "The call made was to report an act of piracy in progress, a major crime that many signs around TIFF remind people is a punishable offense.

"I simply requested that an officer confront and confirm that he was not pirating."

Billington, who was laughed at by the 911 operator, later admitted to the move being a "gaffe" and took to a more appropriate venue to vent about the incident: Twitter.

"I'm trying to make a difference for the better, if that's so grating I'm sorry. Changes need to be made and drastic measures are called for," Billington wrote, adding:

"My mistake is my own lesson to learn. I contacted staff first for piracy, they did nothing. Attention should be on the policy, bigger issue."